A Douglas County Search and Rescue team works Monday to locate a Bend man presumed drowned while swimming at Diamond Lake in August. 

At least 17 people in Oregon died in boating-related drownings between June and September this year, according to the Oregon State Marine Board.

That list includes acclaimed Portland chef Naomi Pomeroy, an 11-year-old boy who died in a fishing boat accident and a 24-year-old woman who died near Portland’s Hawthorne Bridge when the towed inner tube she was riding was thrown into another boat.

The numbers in 2024 mark a slight increase over the 14 boating-related drownings in summer 2023 and the 16 reported in summer 2022.

In Oregon, recreational water use spikes during the summer months, especially in rivers and lakes, contributing to the state’s drowning numbers.

Ashley Massey, a spokesperson for the marine board, said most of the people who died were not wearing life jackets, but a final figure for summer 2024 was not available as of Thursday.

Just over 70% of the fatalities were men or boys.

“More men typically participate in water recreation,” said Massey. “But that is changing, and we are seeing women participate much more.”

Oregon law requires children ages 12 and under to wear life jackets at all times while on boats. The law also calls for each adult to have a life jacket on board, but they’re not required to wear them unless they’re on extreme whitewater rapids.

“There’s this idea that it’s ‘not cool to wear a life jacket’ so men die more because of it,” Massey said.

Other 2024 deaths include:

A 34-year-old woman from Beaverton who drowned in the Willamette River on Sept. 1 after the boat she was in made a sharp turn.

A 37-year-old man from Bend who died at Diamond Lake in August after jumping from a boat. His sister said he couldn’t swim.

The 11-year-old boy from Camas who drowned alongside his father after the fishing boat they were in capsized in the Columbia River bar.

A 72-year-old man who died while wake boarding on the Columbia River after his tow rope became tangled in the boat’s propeller, pulling him under.